Cambridge has several bus services including routes linking five Park and Ride sites all of which operate seven days a week and are aimed at encouraging motorists to park near the city's edge.[1] Since 7 August 2011, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has bus services running into the centre of Cambridge.

Most buses run to and from the bus station located on Drummer Street in the heart of the city, although there are significant interchanges at the railway station and at Addenbrooke's Hospital. The principal operator is Stagecoach.

The scheme, budgeted at £116.2 million, had been scheduled to open in early 2009[4] but did not open until in August 2011.[5] The scheme had been heavily criticised by campaigners who believed that the route would be better served by restoring the existing railway route.[6]

The city is served by a seven days a week park and ride service run by Cambridgeshire County Council and Stagecoach.[7] Five sites on the outskirts of the city or just outside its boundaries - at Babraham Road, Madingley Road, Milton, Newmarket Road and Trumpington - provide over 4,500 parking spaces, electric car charging and other facilities.[8][9][10][11][12] Buses run from these sites into the city centre up to every 7 minutes.[7]

Because of its rapid growth in the 20th century, Cambridge has a congested road network.[13] Several major roads intersect at Cambridge. The M11 motorway from east London terminates to the north-west of the city where it joins the A14. Skirting the northern edge Cambridge, the A14 is a major freight route which connects the port of Felixstowe on the east coast with the Midlands, North Wales, the west coast and Ireland. The A14 is often congested, particularly the section between Huntingdon and Cambridge where the east–west traffic is merged with the A1 to M11 north–south traffic on a 2-lane dual carriageway.[14] Cambridge is situated on the A10, a former Roman road from north London to Ely and King's Lynn. The A428 connects the city with Bedford and St Neots, and the A1303 to Newmarket and beyond to Colchester.

Some roads around the city have been designated as forming a ring road about a mile and a half in diameter, inside which there are traffic restrictions.

There are five council car parks in the city centre. There are limited numbers of metered bays offering parking for up to 1–8 hours across the city[15]

As a university town lying on fairly flat ground and with traffic congestion, Cambridge has a large number of cyclists. Many residents also prefer cycling to driving in the narrow, busy streets, giving the city the highest level of cycle use in the UK.[16] According to the 2001 census, 25% of residents travelled to work by bicycle. A few roads within the city are adapted for cycling, including separate traffic lights for cycle lanes and cycle contraflows on streets which are otherwise one-way; the city also benefits from parks which have shared use paths. There are, however, no separate cycle paths within the city centre. Despite the high levels of cycling, expenditure on cycling infrastructure is around the national average of 0.3% of the transport budget. There are a few cycle routes in the surrounding countryside and the city is now linked to the National Cycle Network. The main organisation campaigning to improve conditions for cyclists in Cambridge is the Cambridge Cycling Campaign.[17] The city was chosen as a Cycling Town by the Department for Transport in 2008, with central government funding an expansion of cycling facilities in the city and its surrounding villages.[18] There was a 5% increase in cycling from 2013 to 2014 - an increase of 88% since 2004.[19]

Bike theft in the city is a problem, with over 3000 bicycles reported stolen between April 2005 and March 2006. The actual number is believed to be higher as many thefts are not reported to the police.[20]

The railway service connecting Cambridge and Oxford, known as the Varsity Line, ceased in 1968. The East West Rail proposal plans to reinstate a direct rail route to Oxford, possibly by 2030.[23][24]

Cambridge South railway station has been proposed, which would serve the South of the city.[25] In August 2017, the Transport Secretary backed plans for a new station as part of the East West Rail plan,[26][27] with a possible opening date of 2021,[28][29] that could also include a light rail link.[30] An unsuccessful application was made to the New Stations Fund 2 in 2017,[31] but £5 million was allocated to the project in the November 2017 Budget Speech.[32]

The city's own airport is Cambridge Airport (formerly Marshall Airport Cambridge UK and originally Teversham Aerodrome) and is owned by Marshall Aerospace. There are no scheduled passenger services, though the runway can accommodate an unladen Boeing 747 or MD-11 and ScotAirways used to make scheduled flights to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The airport is used mainly by business, leisure and training flights, and to fly in aircraft for maintenance.[33][34][35] In 2004 a charter service to Jersey was operated and flights to other European destinations such as Gothenburg were operated on either a scheduled or charter basis. At the end of January 2016 all scheduled and charter flights from the airport were halted due to a lack of passenger numbers.[36]

A dealer in fibreglass-moulded light monoplanes is also based at the airport.[citation needed] Controversially it has been mooted to remove Marshalls to a site away from the city, and develop the land with housing.[37]Sir Arthur Marshall, the founder of the company, died in 2007.

In 2008 Cambridge was awarded the status of "Cycling Town", and granted £3.6 million to spend on cycling improvements.[38] Cambridgeshire County Council currently plans to use the money to construct six new cycle paths in the city and its surrounding area:

In order to promote safety and improve access to Cambridge railway station, the County Council is redeveloping the area surrounding it. Work is set to commence by the end of 2010 and continue for about a year,[39][40] at an estimated cost of £3.1 million. The redevelopment of the Cambridge Station area has been given the green light and has been awarded £1.5 million of central government money to help pay for the scheme. The Hills Road Bridge safety scheme is still included in the project.

In 2009 the County Council revealed its plans to spend £25 million on renovating the area from Regent Street to the Cherry Hinton Road Junction, entitled Project Cambridge. The scheme is composed of many smaller projects with common themes of making junctions easier for pedestrians to cross, promoting cycle use and reducing traffic.[41] The scheme, criticised for not having had consultation with councillors or the public,[42] is to be funded through tax increment financing where the money would initially be borrowed and would be repaid over 25 years from increases in business tax revenue. The scheme was due to be discussed by councilors in October 2009.[43]

In 1950, a city plan for Cambridge was published. Chaired by Sir William Holford, an eminent architect and planner, it proposed a set of changes which a relief road for the centre of Cambridge, which would have destroyed terraced housing and other areas. These plans were, however, never implemented.[45]

^"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Secretary Of State Celebrates Start Of Works On Guided Busway

^[4] "At Cambridge East, centred on the airport, there are plans for 12,000 homes - if and when Marshalls relocate." Cambridge Evening News, "Shaping the Future of a Growing City", 26 June 2007 retrieved 9 August 2008[dead link]